It was a pivotal moment of The Walking Dead Season Three Finale and perhaps THE fan favorite moment in an episode filled with incredible moments. Here it is again!

Right after that episode creator Robert Kirkman revealed that Danai Gurira was cast as Michonne on The Talking Dead. Kirkman tells The Hollywood Reporter how he kept the casting secret.

Danai Gurira courtesy IMDB

“It was very carefully done. The scene was shot — that wasn’t Danai in the costume — so we held the casting until later so it wouldn’t leak because we knew that once we cast Michonne there would be so many agents, managers and casting people that would be aware of it that it would be impossible to keep it under wraps. We waited until later to do it and worked really hard to preserve that reveal.”

Robert Kirkman explained why Gurira stood out when auditioning for the role.

“Danai really portrayed the power and strength that we need Michonne to exhibit. Michonne is a very complex character who’s dealing with a lot of things and has a very intricate personality. There’s a lot to that role, and Danai, more than any other actress, showed us that she could exhibit that strength and show what an intense character she could be and, at the same time, have that emotional core and be able to show a vulnerability to a certain extent that we don’t see much of but is definitely there. She really was the whole package, and I think she’s going to do a really good job.”